James Barker (1590-1634)
}} Biography James Barker I died on the ship Mary and John as she reached New England. He is called in family manuscript a legal decendant of Rowland Barker. 1634 Mary and James He was a passenger on the English ship [[Mary and James 1634 Voyage| Mary and James]], which sailed from Southampton in 1634, bound for New England. The ship arrived safe at Massachusetts Bay. The ship Mary and John of London, Robert Sayres master, left Southhampton, March 24th 1634 for New England, Nicolas Easton came with his two sons Peter and John. James Barker II, and Christianna came to New England 1630 with her husband Thomas Beecher to Charleston Mass he was a freeman in 1632 one of the first selectmen of Charleston. Represenitive of the first general count of Mass, and seven following sessions. Captain of the castle 1635 died 1637. Research Notes James Barker was baptized on 20 October 1622 at Southwold, Suffolk, England, the son of James Barker. It is possible that his father was the James Barker of Southwold whose estate was administered on 5 Feb 1626/7, leaving estate to widow Elizabeth. It is also plausible that Barker lost his mother shortly thereafter, and as an orphan was then cared for by his aunt, Christian (Barker) (Cooper) Beecher.1 There had been a family tradition that young James Barker sailed to New England in 1634 with his father, who died en route, and with his aunt Christian who was married to Nicholas Easton.2 While there are possibly elements of truth in this tradition, there are also two serious flaws. The first is that it appears that James's father died several years before young James sailed to New England, based on the 1626 administration mentioned. Secondly, Christian was married to Thomas Beecher when she came to New England, in 1630. Beecher died in early 1637,3 so his widow did not marry Nicholas Easton until after then.4 It is most likely that young James Barker came to New England as an orphan with his aunt in 1630, but no documentation has been found to support this. It is almost certain, however, that Barker came to Rhode Island from Massachusetts with his aunt and her third husband, Nicholas Easton, about 1638. The English background of James Barker has been discovered largely through his connection with his Aunt Christian Barker, sister of his father James. Christian and the elder James were children of an earlier James Barker and his wife, Christian King. The first James Barker was a son of William Barker, who was a son of Robert Barker.5 Christian Barker was married three times, first, in 1610, to Thomas Cooper, second, in 1626, to Thomas Beecher, and third, about 1637, to Nicholas Easton, who later became governor of the Rhode Island colony. This is why James Barker was called a nephew of Nicholas Easton in a 1663 deed.6 Christian first came to New England in 1630 with her second husband who was a mariner, and became member #17 of the Boston church in late summer of that year.3 It is plausible that Barker, her nephew, was orphaned at the time, and came with he References * James Barker (1590-1634)/List of Notable Descendants * James Barker - Wikipedia Category: Died at sea